General chat – Oct

How can it be October already?
It’s week two of school hols in SA do I have endured watching many episodes of Teen Titans on Netflix and YouTube magicians.

Robb Stark in the BBC’s The Bodyguard


Mr Juz and I sped through The Bodyguard – no, not the Whitney Houston movie. It’s a political thriller with heaps of top notch British actors, so actors who actually look like real people. It stars King in the North Robb Stark as an ex-soldier turned police officer and had us on tenterhooks. It drops on Netflix Australia on October 24.


I’ve also been enjoying the new season of GBBO and the gentle cameraderie of the white tent. I still miss Mel, Sue and Mary but do enjoy Noel being such a kook.
What are you watching?



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276 Comments

  1. Just for the sake of continuing a previous discussion, I was listening to KerrieAnne Kennelly this morning on Studio 10 supporting the use of the Opera House to advertise a horse race, and I realise that she irritates me.
    It’s been a slow realisation. The best I can put it is that she seems like an entitled, middle-aged white woman.
    I know, I know, she’s had lots of problems in her life and I should be sympathetic but having to struggle for the basics in life is not one of them. She doesn’t seem to have any concept of another point of view.

    • I noticed the Diva pandering on Studio 10. I might be wrong, but I get the feeling that she has been given centre stage. Kudos for her longevity but sitting on that panel isn’t rocket science. They don’t even research topics they open their mouths to discuss. Anyone who doesn’t get stage fright could yammer on on of those panels.

      • There was a bit of a movement last year to put her in the Logie Hall of Fame, which absolutely baffled me. Not only is she a bit meh in terms of likeability, but I can’t see that she has done anything in TV worthy of recognition.

    • I’ve never been a fan of hers; I don’t actively dislike her, but I too find her irritating. We’ve all had problems in our lives, and I save my sympathy for people I care about, which is usually not tv personalities.

      I found Studio 10 to be the most mind-numbingly boring, vacuous show around. The panelists’ mouths open and incredible drivel pours out.

      • Von, exactly. Studio 10 is vacuous drivel. I would say, I could do that panel, but then I would be insulting myself. 😁😁😁

      • I used to like it at the beginning. I found it fresh, particularly compared to the drivel that came from the supercilious Karl, and the arrogance of Kochie. And don’t even get me started on the need for a blonde bimbo paid to laugh at their bad jokes and pander to their egos
        But now, not so much and something’s gone terribly wrong. It’s like they are autopilot. They all have this vacuous, pretend personas and even I could write the script for them.
        I would suggest that the changes in personnel (including behind the scenes) has done them no favours (who would have thought that I would miss Jessica Rowe?) And those that are left don’t give the impression that they really want to be there.
        Still, it is hosted by a woman, and it keeps older more people on view. There is a reason why my internet name is Pollyanna.

  2. On British crime series, last night I watched most of season 1 of Guilty. I can see its weaknesses but it was the equivalent of a page turner. One of those series where you keep saying, “Just one more”, and watch 6 more episodes.

  3. Anyone watch the new episode of Dr Who? Hate the time slot. What are they thinking starting at 5.55pm?

    Not the best episode. The pacing was very slow and basically The Boneless episode Redux with a different villain. I fear that people are scared to say no to the showrunner and tell them when ideas don’t quite work.

    It is very PC. During the 50th anniversary year it was posited that the Doctor is a reflection of British masculinity during that time. You could argue that the Jodie era will be an extended lecture on the evils of male white privilege.

  4. Boyfriend is looking forward to The Bodyguard, so we will watch it when it is on Netflix.
    We will start with season 3 of The Man in the High Castle. I loved the first two seasons, they trailer for season 3 looked great, so I am “pumped”. Hopefully we are finished before my vacation starts. Going to Germany, visiting my mother and seeing my Oma who got pretty sick the last few months. Also; Friends of mine have a big fancy wedding with a Medieval Feast in a castle. And I will make their wedding cake. So, fingers crossed I won’t screw it up and hand over a cake wreck. 😀
    http://www.cakewrecks.com/

    Oh, btw, Discovery season 2 looks quite good too. The Klingons have hair again:
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tngJcV9Z9Uk
    I bet all the old Trekkies are crying salty tears once more. 😀

  5. Re-watched The Sapphires this week. Loved it just as much as the first time.

    Watching it straight after The Notebook cleansed my palate of soppy mills and boon romance, and lifted my spirits with a genuinely beautiful love story. Love Deborah Mailman and Chris O’Dowd.

  6. And more on the ‘I-am-so-irritated-with’ Kerri-Anne Kennelly theme, I watched her being an absolute moron with a comedian (the one who put Alan Jones’ phone number up in lights) and who I admired enormously for being able to hold his own in the face of constant interruptions and badgering from the Diva. And she made really bizarre comments that made no sense (She made some sarcastic comment about how tha ABC has balanced reporting – there was no one there from the ABC. And some other comment that stopped everyone in their tracks with a Like what?)
    And then I read an article saying how wonderful KAK was from someone who seems to have watched a completely different show to me.
    The loud raucous clapping from the audience led me to believe that they were in favour of the comedian but now I am wondering whether I got it all wrong.
    The whole thing was most perculiar and really odd television.

  7. Latest cake. Yoghurt cake with a goat cheese mousse infused with fresh rosemary, a fig jam and fig chips. Plus a honey buttercream and a honey caramel drizzle.

  8. Why are the results of The Bachelor still being raked over? All through the channel 9 news, the ads for A Current Affair were promoting ACA having “caught” the bachelor to question his decision. Sheesh, get over it. All the women on the show were lucky that the bach didn’t pretend to find the love of his life just to give the series a normal ending.

    Let it be, media.

  9. Watching “Playing for Keeps” tonight, and I kinda got an inkling where they were going with one of the subplots (a twist regarding Rusty, one of the male characters) … it’s a sixth sense thing … so I was proud of myself for guessing the twist, half an hour before it showed up. But then the episode ended and the credits rolled and I just felt really crap about it. I hate being me sometimes, which, actually, is a lot of the time. Anyway.

    No more “Survivor” and Ali’s season looks like a trainwreck. I’m not sure what I’ll do with myself, but I never did watch that first Who episode.

    • Well, I like you being you, Windsong. I’m not blowing smoke anywhere, either :).

      Television is going to get more shitty the later in the year it gets. Try reading. A book I read last year is Burial Rites by Hannah Kent. Considering the subject of it, I figured no way I’d like it. But it’s very well-written and turned out to be an engrossing read.

      • I paint and Netflix.
        And I have discovered a number of courses that are offered over the internet. I did Astronomy for Fun – not that I understood a word but I enjoyed it.
        I seem to be alone here but I didn’t really like Burial Rites.
        I, too, am looking for things to occupy me. I have a mother shaped hole in my life that is proving difficult to fill.

      • One of the many great things that have happened this year is that I lost my job in August. My bosses had been saying to me for 8 months, “your job is here waiting for you whenever you get well!” And it turns out, nope, it wasn’t.

        Anyway, point of the story is that I have lots of time to try new things, currently, I just don’t have much money to do so (which is fine, mostly. It’s not like I have a need to rush out and buy a gold-encrusted Ferrari, but going to lunch or catching a movie with my friends becomes a tad difficult if you’re on a very tight budget).

        I haven’t really written much lately. I was in the middle of a couple of projects when I got sick last year, and I’d like to get back to them, but I don’t know if I’m in the right headspace or not (because I’m still really not all that well).

        I also downloaded and read my first digital novel from Amazon Australia recently. I liked it (until the ending, which was bad), but so much digital content on Amazon must be self-published, because it lacks that professional polish that a team of editors would bring. I was briefly entertaining the idea of trying to self-publish something, just to get my work out there, but I don’t know if I could do it, I’m not very tech savvy at all.

        • I fell across some Australian website that is looking for manuscripts, and they offered editing. I have often wondered whether this is the way to go.
          And I have also wondered whether I should go down the editing route. It seems to me that that would be a pretty cool job to do from home. In a past life I met someone who did it for people who were submitting articles to magazines and for uni students. His claims to fame were good grammar and an eye for detail.
          I digress.
          I don’t think Amazon is the only way to go but if you do, you have an entire audience here who I’m sure would jump on the inter web to give you great reviews. This is where I come when I need support.
          And fftt to your old employer. They don’t know what they are missing.

        • Ah, that sucks, Windsong. I was made redundant four months ago. It’s a horrible experience and I know you have been unwell for some time.

          • Sorry to hear that, Juz. No, it’s definitely not a pleasant feeling. You know, I’ve left jobs before because I was miserable at them, but I’ve never been outrightly told, “We don’t want you to come back” before, and it’s realy unsettling. And what makes it so galling is that, they’d spend 8 months telling me, “Come back whenever you want to”, and well, here we are.

            Occasionally, I get messages from my coworkers or bosses, saying, “We miss you, be sure to stop back in sometimes”. I think that they think we’re all good. I don’t really have the energy to hold a grudge, but it’s not good, I’m still pretty upset about the whole situation. I understand why they let me go, and they’re not horrible people, but I’m still kind of hurt about the whole thing.

            And the thing is, I do still feel rotten. It could be months, maybe not even until next year, until I’m anywhere near normal again. I have no clue how long that healing process is going to take, but it’s probably gonna be a long while yet. The whole situation just kind of sucks.

            So I find myself in the unenviable position of being 35, and having not the slightest idea what to do with my life. Not a tiny clue. I think between “Survivor” and “The Bachelor” (mocking the honey badger and falling hopelessly in love with Robbie), it was a healthy, pleasant distraction.

            You know, when I was younger, I used to just assume that life got easier, the more you did it. As the years rolled on, you learned stuff, you got practice at being an adult, you figured things out and it got slightly, marginally easier. But these last few years (not just the last 12 months, which was one disaster after another, but all the way back to when I really fell apart in 2014), it’s all just gotten more difficult, more complicated, and even harder to figure out who I am and what I want.

            And I’m not broke, I’m living on my savings, but that far-off dream of home ownership is well and truly gone, by now. I just don’t know what to do, you know?

          • Windsong, although I say 35 is no spring chicken to be on Bach/Bachette, in the scheme of life, it’s young. In the days when women quite work to raise their kids (my day) we often started work in our 30s when the kids were older. I worked in a coffee shop for awhile in my mid thirties and loved it but then decided to go to uni. I think I started uni at about 38 or something. It was good doing uni at that age because I was actually interested in the course.
            From that I had 12 years of teaching, quit that for 6 years started a shop, travelled and imported things we bought, had enough of that and went back to just relief teaching because I like not working to much.
            I thought I was about 100 years old when I was in my 20s with 3 kids. Now I think, at 63, I am old, but my 83 year old mum says she would kill to be 70.
            Anyhoo, you and Juz are smart and creative. You’ll think of something you want to do. I started my career path at about your age, changed, then changed again.
            For my next phase I am going to marry a billionaire and do cruises. 😉

          • Cheers to Juz and Windsong.

            Was a mature age student like daisy at 35. I’m familiar with success, failure ~ both have good and bad aspects.

            Yeah, a house is nice but it won’t fit your coffin. To do what you really want takes a heap of courage and you’ll be swimming against the tide of human mediocrity . I have beige Mc mansions across the road, blocking out the Sun and Moon rise.

            If I had my life again, I would have started rescuing animals earlier.

            A drunk told me in a park about forty years ago Perth , that good health and good friends is all that matters. He’d be long gone now but I think he was right.

          • Yes, Dave. Good health and a couple or few close friends or family. Definitely health and good relationships.

          • I hate to be a copy cat here, but I, too, started a late career and then changed and changed and then changed again.
            I didn’t go to uni with something in mind but just to start and have a look (because it takes a long time). And I can’t say that I actually fell over a career that I loved but I didn’t hate any of them.
            Two things: I discovered the joy of long distance education, and I wish I have focused more on skills where I wasn’t dependent on a “boss”. But still, hindsight.
            And friends and family. Hold on to them tight. So maybe three things.

          • Interesting stuff, Bobi.

            I’ll be the copy cat and confess that like daisy , I”d settle for and have half hatched plans trying to marry a wealthy widow.

            Probably have to go on the cruise first, could be a prob raising the funds for that . Life wasn’t meant to be easy.

          • Windsong, just wanted to share that DH found a career he was good at, and was encourage to do tertiary education to enhance his skills. A few years later, the employer decided they couldn’t afford the tertiary educated portion of their staff and released three at once, without warning, including the manager who held a degree. It was cheaper to employ untrained people, and nothing required them to have qualified staff. One of only three times in 35 years that I have seen him in tears (and the others involved deaths). Shredded his self-worth for a while. Fortunately it is in the past now, but life certainly is no easier in other ways now

            I suppose I just wanted to affirm that just because others think you should be okay with it, this is one of the hardest things you will deal with, and it is fair enough to feel rotten about it.

          • Bugger windsong that is a terrible pile of crap to have thrown on you.
            The redundancy is a terribly common event though I am sorry to say. My husband worked for a retailer for 28 years (not Myer. The other one) and was made redundant. It totally sucked. A real blow to his self-belief. (And especially as we knew that way less competent people were kept because they were cheaper.)
            However it totally changed his plans and at 53 he did a real estate course and has been a really successful agent! We even have beeen overseas on a reward trip as he was one of the top sales people in NSW. So the redundancy actually delivered him the career he’s always wanted to try but never had the impetus.
            So I’m saying it will be okay. Just maybe not clear at once and maybe not in the way you expect.
            And don’t stress the house- that Robbie look alike will have a lovely one for you to share!

  10. So – I just read the Cormoran Strike novels (JK Rowling writing as Robert Galbraith) while on a teeny mini break (only away a week) and really enjoyed them. Apparently there was a series shown on Foxtel, but I missed it. Did anyone see it?
    I am wondering what to watch now that we are back to just one day of Survivor for the week!
    Can’t seem to summon the energy to dislike or like Kerry-Anne, she’s kind of meh to me.
    I enjoy bake off too – but my family are not keen, which makes it hard as it’s not MUST WATCH – which is now pretty much only survivor for me, given that MKR and Masterchef were such parodies of their former glory.
    I like the Good Place on Netflix, but struggle to find fun stuff that’s a bit of a laugh or a good cop show or thriller.

    On the other hand – our mini break was a lot of fun. We flew to Cairns and did a one way motorhome relocation to Sydney in a week. a big road trip – my husband adores that sort of thing – we did just under 3000kms. I thought teenagers in closer proximity than we live usually with limited wifi would be dodgy, but we all loved it. We stayed at some awesome beaches, ate a lot of deep fried crap, drank too much wine and generally had a great time. Also, super cheap ($1/day for a luxury 6 berth motorhome + they paid $300 of the fuel). Fun trip. but reality is back with soggy Sydney and not much tv to watch! My google tells me this is one of my most visited sites, so I have just clicked on some ads (mine seem to all be for travel at the moment) to help out the good vibes and spirit of fun that is found here!

  11. Great to read about your trip, Brussel.
    For crime, I am watching The Truth about Harry Quebert. It’s intriguing but I hate waiting week by week. Last night we watched New Blood, a Brit cop series. Not rivetting but a good cast and not too bad.
    We are also watching The Good Place, but again, I hate waiting week to week.

  12. No tv tonight. Put on the headphones with my favourite music and dance in the dark with Just for gags on you tube on telly. Then go for a late night swim, with Harry and Maggie keeping watch.
    Nice.
    Oh I just remembered my Survivor recording. The icing on my evening cake.
    Cake? Did someone mention cake?

  13. I’m now in Lisbon, Portugal, just flicked on the tv to see what was on and all of a sudden Johanna Griggs is on the screen. It’s a finale of House Rules! A couple of seasons ago, Cody and Luke v Claire and Hagan.
    A few pics of my trip to follow. 😃

    • So I flew to Rome, did a Mediterranean cruise, stops were, Salerno (Amalfi Coast), Messina Sicily, Dubrovnik, Kotor (Montenegro), Corfu (Greece), and Corsica France, we were supposed to stop at Toulon France but the stop was cancelled due to the weather. We finished in Barcelona.
      We’ve then had a few days in Barcelona, Seville, and now Lisbon. We go to Porto on Saturday, followed by Bilbao and finally London.
      Let’s see if I can work out how to post pics!

        • We did a cruise to Alaska a few years ago. Long story, but owing to travel agent error we had to be massively upgraded to the Owner’s Suite. I have a VERY high opinion of cruising now, lol. Our first experience was truly sensational.

          To be honest, I think it is all about picking the right cruise line and destination.
          I would LOVE to do what Erin has done – we also chose Princess Cruises. Despite having teenage kids we are older and didn’t want to be stuck with the RSL outing type crowd that seem to be associated with the “P&O to the Islands” experience. So the research came up with Princess as a safer option for us – and I think even if in the less refined cabins that we actually paid for it would have been fantastic. I would definitely do it again. I would love to cruise Japan/Russia or Med/Adriatic. Possibly even northern Europe/Scandi if we could rake up the cash!

        • We have done a couple (one for anniversary, another with teens and young adults (but non-drinkers)), and we generally find that you feel surprisingly un-crowded on the ship. I think people tend to congregate at the activities they like, so you keep seeing the same few people. But if you are not interested in say, the bars, nightclub, or casino and don’t go there, then you never see the people who do.

          And we are generally not well off so our ships were the cheapest ones – Pacific Jewel and Aria. Honestly never saw anyone drunk, but they were probably up all night and sleeping all day.

  14. Wow, thanks Erin. It sounds great.
    I was recently eyeballing cruises but Woolif was like “No way. I went on a cruise and hated it”. But I told him we wouldn’t be in a centre room with no windows, We’d have a lovely balcony. I’m sure I would love it, but a trip to Europe next year has won out.
    You must be loving the Mediterranean, and cruising from place to place must be so relaxing.
    Thanks for sharing your holiday.

  15. Back to the lack of decent TV (apart from detoxing from an absorbing Survivor season), at least we finally have the next season of The Middle on Thursday nights – yay. I am desperate to see Sue and Shaun find each other, but it is being beautifully teased out. I used to like Darren in the past seasons, but Shaun has won my heart (in the imaginary world).

      • Sorry, should have mentioned it before. The first week it came immediately before the first US Survivor and they were advertising together. Since then Survivor went later so there are Big Bang eps between. And they have been showing double eps, so you have missed a few now.

        You’re going to love Sue and Shaun.

        • Thanks, Fijane. streamed it from 9 and caught up, but I feel I missed season 8.
          It was less funny than usual, they probably only continued to complete story lines.
          Sue sure gets her share of boyfriends. 😊

          • Eight eps down and we finally have a kiss!

            Agree, Sue certainly attracts the guys. I suppose they are subtly following the “good heart/personality is better than stunning looks” line (although they have always made Sue more dorky than the actress really is). I like that, and it is refreshing for a US show.

            One thing I have liked in the past few seasons is that they have been fleshing out the friendships between the neighbours. I suppose it is a natural progression as the kids started to spread their wings, but it feels nice for Frankie and Mike.

    • Yeah, Maz. I just saw the “Duck Of York” Fair quack of the whip.

      Great captions, Ch 7. A right royal mess.

      “Hooning down the 850 guests” Whaat?

      Windy as buggery , keep those fascinators on gels.

    • It was so much nicer than the dress from that other royal wedding. And it fits!

      While I think the two girls will never live down the hats from Kate and Wil’s wedding, I thought Eugenie looked refreshingly normal and happy.

  16. The couple have “made their fouls” ~ these captions are priceless!

    (Way to go Usain Bolt. 2 goals for CCM tonight.)

    • I just bought our annual memberships. I hope our lovely relaxed games at our pretty little stadium won’t turn into a three-ring circus now.

  17. Saw “Bad Times at the El Royale”. Long movie but I found it interesting and enjoyed it except for the violence. It was a quirky film sort of reminiscent of a Tarentino movie.

    I’m going to try and watch Netflix’s “Haunting of Hillhouse”. The original movie gave me the chills.

    • We just started the Haunting at House Hill a couple of night ago. No binging because Woolif goes to bed early and I don’t want to watch it at night alone.
      You have to really pay attention to the names of the characters Smythe, or in the first couple of episodes you’ll be trying to work out who is who.
      It seems like it’s going to have some good intrigue. We are only up to about ep 3 or 4.

      • I watched 4 episodes and started the 5th at night and had to stop watching halfway through because I don’t want to watch it at night either and I think something ultra scary is going to happen.

        You are right, Daisy, about paying attention to the characters. It was confusing. BTW, do you think the actress who plays Theo, Kate Siegel, looks a bit like Angelina Jolie? At first I thought she was Jolie.

        I’m going to watch again today.

        • First let me correct my spelling “binging to binjing”.
          And YES she is probably identical to Angelina pre fat lips etc. I keep telling Woolif, “Gee she looks like AJ”.

          I did watch one ep by myself last night after Woolif went to bed. I am up to about ep 9 I think. It’s the mystery that holds me.

          • I finished watching it all yesterday. I wasn’t thrilled with the ending. Not WHAT happened, but how the director finished it off. Hopefully others will like the ending.

          • I agree with you regarding the ending, Daisy. I was also disappointed. It just didn’t work for me in so many ways. Acting excellent but the way they wrapped things up far from excellent. For me what happened in the end missed the mark.

            BTW, it’s possible there will be a second season so maybe the ending wasn’t REALLY an ending.

  18. The Haunting of Hill House is a tv series? I wonder how that will go. I remember the book and the original movie both scared the bejesus out of me.

    • You should check it out. It’s different than the movie. I never read the book.

      It’s giving me the chills sometimes. Yesterday I was looking into the laundry room and it looked like there strange shadow (maybe a skinny person) on the door. I got spooked at first but realized it was just the shadow of the profile of the refrigerator. This is how much the show is sometimes creeping me out.

      • Thanks, Smythe, but I only have free-to-air. The idea of you being frightened by the shadow of your fridge kind of makes me want to subscribe to Netflix, though.

        • There are some good programs on Netflix. I watch a few of the Marvel programs, “Orange is the New Black” and “Stranger Things”.

  19. Today’s Landline had the best story on the history of the dog in post Colonial Australia.

    Imagine no sheep, cattle industry. Properly bred, one dog does what four humans can do. Friend for life.

    Compelling evidence that the First Fleet could well have starved without the dogs they brought out with them. Highly recommended, about half way during show.

    Heelers, hounds , kelpies, breeds, dingoes, myths and bs exploded etc. Only on ABC.

    • Cats have contributed fuck all but they’re okay, too. They tend to give up after a decent mouse,rat or rabbit plague has set in. Destroying the ecology here isn’t their fault. We all gotta eat.

      No cats on Centrelink , last time I checked.

      Just an opinion.

      • I never really knew what a “cur” was. Worth it for that. If you watch 24 much, you’re bound to see it.

      • It’ll be on again at 4.30 am on 24 tomorrow for those who want to record it. Plenty about kelpies etc.

    • I was listening to the Conversations podcast on Australian dogs. The part on Kelpies was the bit that held my interest.
      Worth listening to.

  20. Woolif is watching Insomnia but he has to watch it when I’m not around. It’s too awful. I hate shows about that kind of evil; evil that could happen as opposed to a haunting.

      • I don’t know that Smythe but it has the concept of why I stopped watching Game of Throne 5 minutes in. Only a lot worse. There is gambling. And it’s very gory, but it’s the evil of the gamblers that I find so horrible.

        • I got interested in “Game of Thrones” because of the politics of it all. The hyper-violence and sexualised-violence is overwhelming and quite off-putting, to be honest. I get the medieval setting and all, but you could cur the amount of that down by *half* and you’d still have a servicable story. Like, most of it’s just so unnecessary.

        • I watch GOT but I fast forward through the over the top violence and gratuitous sexual scenes and abuse. I find it interesting to see the different families fight it out for the throne and think about modern day royalty and the fact that they are only considered royalty because their ancestors fought and killed others to get that throne. It’s sort of sad to think about it that way but it’s a fact.

          • I enjoyed the books but I like Fantasy/sci fi. It’s weird how the TV series will end before the author finishes the last book. Some characters who are alive on screen are long dead in the books.

  21. Is anyone planning to watch Blind Date tonight? It sounds dumb, as do most of the new shows on freebie tv. Although, I thought that about Gogglebox, too, before it started, and it is now one of my favourite shows. I might give Blind Date a ten minute trial.

    One I will definitely not be tuning in to is Bride and Prejudice. Giving air time to people’s bigotry and sexism is not something I would find entertaining.

    • I caught barely a few minutes of “Blind Date”, and the part I watched (while waiting for HYBPA) was *horrifying*. I can forgive a lot of things, for the sake of Julia Morris, but I certainly won’t be forgiving that.

      • I didn’t last a full ten minutes. The scripted answers from the contestants, canned laughter, and endless double entendre remarks put me off. It was as though I was watching a bunch of twelve year old smart-asses trying to be cool.

        • Divine providence intervened here in the form of a power out. One minute Julia is gaping like a tuna taking its last breaths, the next second, gone.

  22. I am watching Blind Date atm. It reminds me of Australian tv production when tv wasin its infancy. It’s complete rubbish, but not in a good way. I will give it half an hour, but so far I am think Julia should sack her agent and her image consultant who suggested that silver dress. She looks like tuna.

  23. I used to love Julia Morris. But now I just can’t stand the same old same old Julia. Fawning over men and making those funny faces. Once or twice is funny but all the time is cringe worthy.

    • I don’t know if the contestants were feeding off Julia, but their answers were stupid. Everyone was trying to be outrageous and/or funny…and failing.

    • It seems like they want to recreate the IAC Julia in other shows. I don’t think that will work. It is an act that fits IAC as a double act with Chris Brown, and even then, I know that some people are repelled by it. It doesn’t translate at all as a solo Julia act.

      When you look at Julia’s acting credits, it is such a pity that Channel 10 persist with trying to pigeonhole her into the crazy, man-drooling bimbo. She is so much better than that, and I would like to see her put her foot down and say she will only do the act for IAC.

      • Sorry. I meant Celebrity Apprentice. I liked her in that when she wasn’t trying to be funny. I don’t like her at all in IAC.

  24. I sat down and watched Ambulances tonight. I got quite stressed and emotional so not sure if it’s healthy for me 🙁 to continue following the series. 😩

    • We like that show, but I have also been affected by the realism. I have had to deal with a few ambulance/emergency dept situations already this year, and I feel too much empathy for the people, even when it ends well (as it often does).

      What it does confirm for me, is that the wonderful ambos I have dealt with are not atypical. They do a fantastic job, and bring calm and rationality no matter the situation.

    • I have so much respect for ambo and nurses. I guess that’s why I want to watched it. You need that special someone to be a nurse and ambo! I swear I think I am great caring human being but I know I can never be nurse/ambo. And it’s not the long shift, it’s what they do.💜

  25. BTW, for those interested. My sister went to a hypnotherapist and has stopped smoking and drinking. So I went for a compulsive habit I had since I was 10, and another I had for about 15 years. I couldn’t stop, no way, no how.

    It worked. Both gone. Three weeks gone.
    The only thing now is for me to stop turning into a chicken when anyone snaps their fingers.

    • And I would be a difficult patient. He’s saying, “You’re looking at a beautiful painting of a beach”, and I’m thinking, “That would be a Seurat”.

  26. Look what I found in Woolies. Has anyone tried them?
    Damn pic not loading. It’s Diana the MC winner’s frozen dumplings

    • I haven’t seen them, but will give them a try if they are at my Woolies. On line they are listed as $7.50 for a 230gm pack, which seems expensive, but I suppose they aren’t meant to be the whole meal. Do dumplings have to be steamed, or can you cook them as potstickers? And now I’m hungry and it is too early for dinner.

    • Juz, I had Diana’s dumplings tonight . It was alright. I think dumpings are just dumplings for me these days. The sauce she reccomended to make was very very spicy 🌶 but it does taste good.

  27. Any one else over the royal visit (and pregnancy) of Harry and Meaghan?
    I think the tv stations are over doing it a little. I don’t mind watching them for 30 seconds, but anything more than that is too much.
    She doesn’t make her own clothes, she doesn’t eat enough, and lots of people have sex and get pregnant … every day. And none of them are fawned over like this.

    • Thankfully they’re not coming to Adelaide…..but Shane Warne is, signing books down the street next week.

    • They weren’t really on ABC much. But I did love that blackstriped dress Meghan wore on the beach. I’m a bit of a Harry fan for his cuteness.

    • The Royal annoyed the shit out of me! I am avoiding news altogether until they leave the country. Saw a headline on news.com.au about how much it cost us taxpayer just made my blood boiled! My tax money is better of spending on ambo hospital and education

  28. Woolif and I are just starting out giving The Teach a go. It’s made in Poland and has the currently popular theme of murder mystery.

  29. I don’t know why my post popped up twice. Anyhow, Justbrian. It seems she is still in waiting. That’s a surprise; a gorgeous girl like that, and with white socks to boot.

      • Perhaps it’s a process of checking backgrounds of interested parties to establish suitability. I don’t think they just hand dogs over these days. Or do they? When you buy a dog they do, although it took us 3 hours to buy Harry and Maggie because we had to go through some information.

  30. Mr Juz and I started watching Marcella tonight – we’re a bit late to the party but enjoying the show so far. It’s a UK series about a detective who has blackouts, then her hubby wants a divorce, she’s worried a parolee is up to his old murderous tricks and then it all goes even more pear shaped. And because it’s British it’s fun spotting actors like Lady Edith from Downton Abbey and Lee Adama from BSG.

  31. I watched season 3 of “Daredevil”. I had no plans to do that since season 2 was really bad, but I couldn’t find anything else to watch and was getting bored. Glad I watched because it was actually very good although I felt that the final episode seemed a bit rushed and I didn’t like the all about Karen episode because I just don’t like the character. I found it hard to stop watching.
    Parts of it a bit too violent and bloody for me but that was to be expected.
    There was an incredible prison fight/riot scene and interesting backstory about one of the newer characters.

    • I didn’t mind s2, but it would’ve been a thousand times better if they’d *just* focussed on either the Punisher, or Elektra and the Hand (and keeping the focus solely on the Hand would’ve made even more sense because the season led straight into “The Defenders” where the Hand were the primary antagonists).

      Ditching the Punisher angle entirely would’ve made it so much better, but I guess they really wanted to push the Punisher’s own solo series regardless. But I agree, s2 suffered because of it.

  32. Deffinitely the Harry Quebert Affair for a good murder mystery series.

    Now I have startedwatching Deutscland 83 on STAN. It’s a good political, spy thriller set in Germany pre the bringing down of the wall. It has good human touch too.

  33. I just finished Deutschland 83. You know it’s a “page turner” when you watch an entire season in two nights. I thought the acting from the secretary, Linda was particularly good.
    It was an interesting snapshot of 80s history.

  34. We have finally started watching Broadchurch. So far so good (love David Tennant in anything) but the subject matter is harrowing

    • Broadchurch is good. Last night I a bbc series; watched One of Us. That was a “page turner” too. It’ set in Scotland, but you can understand what they are saying. Viewers might recognize the blond girl from The Paradise.
      Now I will have to look for another. I am waiting for Juz’s recommendation; Good Omens.
      If no one has watched yet, try Talbular Rasa. I was pretty cocky (and more cocky than pretty) that I guessed the killer as soon as I saw his/her character. But Wolloif didn’t guess at all so don’t be thinking it’s too easy.

    • I adored Broadchurch. It is harrowing and doesn’t get less harrowing, but it is really well written and the characters are totally plausible in their frailty. I love the layers in the characters and the slow reveal of info. I hope you are captivated by it too Juz!
      I just realised that two doctor whos are in it! d’oh.

  35. Wedding cake, did not turn out like I wanted it to, but it survived 2 hours of German highway, sharp breaks and really warm weather for October. 😉

    • Thanks. 🙂 In the beginning I wasn’t happy at all with it. But I have only worked with fondant about 6 times by now. And I hate it, I hate the taste especially, it is just awfully sweet. The rose on top was actually a solution I came up with at 3 am in the morning after I failed the first technique I planned to do. So I went with the ruffles spiraling into the rose on top – also saved me the work doing a topper.
      The pics are bad, only had my cell phone and the castle was super dark.^^
      The wedding was super fun though and we had a medieval feast. So that meant eating without cutlery except for a dagger. All the food was based on medieval food that was cooked in that area hundreds of years ago. It was tasty, but for me too much, too much meat, too much feat. The best part of the dinner to me was the self made butter and the bread. OMFG, that bread was amazing!

  36. Grand daughter, 11 and I spent the day watching season 1 of Creeped Out. I highly recommend it for older kids, adolescents and young teens. It’s kind of Twilight Zone for kids and not boring to watch with them.
    More episodes are going to be made, which speaks to its success.

  37. Woolif and I are watching Ozark. It’s pretty good. I’s give it about an 8.5 or so.
    Slightly offbeat and original. Family guy accidentally gets embroiledin crime, with a chain reaction of consequences.

      • Mr brussellsprout bailed super quickly on Ozark too, Juz.

        I am not super into it but quite happy to watch occasionally.
        I really want a totally captivating series that we both love – like Broadchurch and more recently CB Strike.

  38. I thought I am smart this year, got my flu shot 3 weeks ago. Yesterday I had nearly 40°C fever, Angina. Can they please find a vaccine against that? 😀 Doctors refuse to remove the tonsils, so I am stuck with Angina at least 2 times a year. But on the positive side, it got better over the years. When I was a teen I had it 6 or 7 times a year, which then always turned into Bronchitis.^^ And the positive effect of this? No sports at school, which I hated anyway (stupid teachers and I always failed at stuff as they only showed us everything from a right footed or handed person, while I was the only leftie).

  39. I have been loving The Middle this season, but something went haywire with the second episode last night (Ep 10 I think). I don’t believe I have missed any of the last few seasons, but suddenly Sue has gained a pre-existing boyfriend we have never seen before. Lexie has disappeared somewhere, and her relationship with Axl is all off-screen. Brad is suddenly more central, and the lovely subtle sideline about him became pushy last night. And no Shaun, after he has been central in Episodes 1-9.

    It is like they employed a screen writer for that episode who had never written for the show before and had no idea where the storylines were going.

    Sorry, just needed to rant. Hope next week gets back to normal, and the musician guy turns out to be a bad dream for Sue.

    • Well, thanks to Google:
      1. this was Ep 12, not 10.
      2. The pop-up boyfriend is the pizza delivery guy who turned up when Sue and Shaun agreed to set each other up with a blind date, and Sue accidentally thought he was the guy Shaun had sent. Still not believable, as he has not appeared since the pizza delivery (several episodes) and there was no indication that he was anything but a momentary plot point. Name is Aiden apparently.

      • I have a couple of this week’s eps on hold for the weekend.

        It’s easier for me now to watch on netflix, or wherever it is I streamed it.

  40. I finished Ozark in a mini binge last night. I enjoyed it even though I liked few of the characters.
    I love the girl who played Ruthie (Julie Garner), I “fell in love” with her in Maniac. Now I want to find another series or movie with her in it. I thought she was the best character in Ozark. I also liked the smart son, and Ruth’s cousin, Wyatt.

    • Recorded it, so I am looking forward to watching.

      Also recording “God Friended me” tonight. It has had very good reviews from America, so I have hope of a new show that isn’t murder/detective/crime based.

      • I’d wanted to watch that, but I never miss an episode of “HYBPA”, so I hope 7 has it up on their website at some point. I’ll have a look tonight.

    • Are you going ahead with the other seasons of Broadchurch Juz?
      We loved them all.
      But it doesn’t actually get much less harrowing. . .

      • Just started season 2. Will keep going. I have seen some of God Friended Me. Harmless light viewing but doubt it will go to season 2. And I watched the latest Walking Dead today, which had a big reveal in it that, hopefully, will lead to a much improved show

  41. I found a good show on netflix for anyone looking for something light. It’s Flaked. I wouldn’t call it comedy but it’s not heavy. My favourite character is the hippy friend.

  42. So we have started The Bodyguard on Netflix. What a mistake when we had limited time.
    Got totally hooked by the first two episodes.
    Good tip Juz!
    Is anyone else watching/has watched?

    • Oh. We are ready for a new series. After Ozark, and One of Us, I needed Flaked because it was just a goofy kind of drama. But now we are ready for Bodyguard.
      Well tonight, that is. Out with friends today.
      I spent yesterday arvo on the pottery.

  43. I know there aren’t many sporties here, but yesterday was a very sad day, when most cricket fans discovered that Cricket Australia have sold out to Foxtel. “Summer of Cricket” is dead. So much for anti-syphoning “laws” – looks like they are just optional.

    Sunday afternoon viewing filled with unwatchable shows. More channels, less stuff we actually want to watch.

    • It was disappointing. Yet Cricket Australia continue to send me emails , assuring me that everything will be as good as ever.

  44. Did anyone see last night’s Walker, Texas Ranger? I woke up partway through, to Walker in the pilot’s seat of a commercial jet with Alex as co-pilot. Much like a very old movie with Doris Day, Walker was quickly doing a reasonable job of flying the plane, although the landing was a bit hairy. It seemed to me that he took out a few buildings trying to land but that was sort of glossed over. Of course, because Walker is a goddamned hero. It was hilarious.

    • It arrived and was a perfect fit. The sizing is reliable, but the fabric looks slightly different. As does the model.

    • I discovered today that this is a Johnny Was and would actually cost about $300. So the photo and design are knock offs.

  45. It’s so weird that it’s right way up in my gallery. I took it upside down to cut reflection. But then cropped and turned. Seemed it wanted to turn it back. Very strange.

    Anyhow, that was around Perth. It’s probably suburbs now I suppose.

  46. We had an earthquake this morning at about 5.00. I missed it because I was still asleep but woke up to everyone talking about it on fb. 5.4 I think and Lake Muir area. Not sure but maybe 40 or so kms away.

  47. It’s a backward place, with a terrible shire, that doesn’t repair small or big jetties, and when they finally put in two little plastic tiles to repair one, they install an impassable gate and keep it locked even on weekends…but it was still a beatiful day in town.

  48. I just noticed that on tv shopping network, there is a show called Boo Radley Fashion at 0230. Seriously, fashion people, Boo Radley? I’ll have to have a look and see what the hell sort of fashion they aim at agoraphbics. I’d think they don’t need a special line of clothes, same as the rest of us.

    Juz, can we please have a new General Chat when you have time? This one is getting a little unwieldy and slow to open, at least on my ancient machine. Thanks.

  49. I tried to embed a picture on this, but it didn’t work. Can someone tell me briefly how to do that, please? I got the pic to the “select an image” bit under post comment, but was lost after that.

    The picture was of Trump greeting Putin in Paris, from New York Times. Peter Cosgrove was there looking on. Few outside of Australia would have noticed, but the expression on our Gov Gen’s face is 1000 words.

    • First ask Nonna for divine help.
      Then you want to save the Trump photo from NYT to your computer. Right click on the photo and go “save image” Call it whatever you want. ie “trumparse”
      Then go select image for your comment, then browse to find your photo whereva you saved it. Double left click on it. It should appear below “Post Comment”
      Then hit Post comment and the photo should appear. Good luck, Von. I’ve only done this two or three times.ie” I’ve never cooked this before”

      Is it that GG Cosgrove?

      • Icouldn’t save the pic that I think it is – being curious, i went to look! I took a screenshot but it probably isn’t very good. The first time it wouldn’t give save image, but only allowed a save as webpage or something, not as image.

      • I’m having trouble uploading my own photos to this site at the moment. I have no problems with internet photos. I wonder if it’s something to do with pixels?

    • I just hold on the pic to save. From there it goes to my gallery. I don’t need to name it. Then I do the same as Dave. When I click on the line for a pic on ttv, my gallery will come up and I choose the pic.

  50. I couldn’t save the pic that I think it is – being curious, i went to look! I took a screenshot but it probably isn’t very good. The first time it wouldn’t give save image, but only allowed a save as webpage or something, not as image.

  51. Anyone else watching Pointless. The Aussie series is pretty easy compared to the Brit series

    Also just setting up the guest room.

      • I love the hosts, especially Mark Humphries. He’s such a dag. I prefer the Aussie version. Sometimes the guests flounder but we have fun playing (I always press pause to give me time to think).

        What’s more, I put a comment on Mark Humphries fb page and to my surprise he replied to it. That makes him a pretty good bloke imo.
        It was so much fun going through Pointless recordings with my grandkids and joining in the game.

      • I love both, but the ideal would be a blend of the two. I find the Aus version too short (missing a whole round) and the questions are a bit easy. I also don’t like the truncated final round or the smaller measuring-thingy. But the UK version spends way too long on chatting to the contestants, and I don’t like the “what will you do with the money if you win” segment.

        I like all four hosts, who are all funny according the type of humour in their country, but I must admit that the injection of a bit of slapstick in the Aus version is very funny. Surprised me because I had never seen Doctor Andrew as funny, and Mark Humphries was a complete unknown to me.

        Love the guest room and especially the quilt – did you make it?

        • Yes, Fijane. The blither blather is too much on the UK version and I know people who didn’t like it for that reason.

          I think Mark must have been a pianist with those hands.

  52. Agree the UK needs to ditch: “I hear you like making pillows for dogs out of human hair you collect from hospital patients – tell us about that.”

    • I liked what I saw of this, but DH is a huge fan of the standard L & N, and couldn’t stomach this version at all.

      • It is very silly indeed. I do also love the repeats of L & N. Richard Morecroft used to host a children’s show called BTN (Behind the News), which we watched at school.

    • I enjoy this show. Our teenager loves Jimmy Carr comedy so it’s a good all rounder, even if there’s not enough comedy for him and slightly too much blather for us. But I loved L&N so was stoked to have this on SBS too.

  53. We are watching Deutschland ’86. We preferred Deutschland ’83. It was good, and easier to follow. But both are interesting from the historical perspective.

    • Daisy, I didn’t like the second season at all. I still have to finish it on Prime. My mother preferred the first season as well.
      I was born in West Germany and was a small kid when Germany was reunited, so for me it is kind of fun to watch.
      I started Deutsch les Landes recently on Prime Video, it is quite funny, French/German co-production. There are tons of good German TV shows at the moment. Guess they started to realize that younger people prefer that over Rosamunde Pilcher movies. 😉
      We also have good crime shows like Tatort.

      If you can get your hands on this one, it might be worth it, it is a bit like a German Peaky Blinders:
      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SBgAlOb2niY
      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uekZpkYf7-E
      I really enjoyed it.

      • Thanks, Zhee. I will give it a go.

        We have tried again with Deutschland 86, but it is still a bit disconnected. Also we need the subtitles and they are quite obscured on this season.
        I think we might perservere just because ’83 was so good.

        Even without any German background, the historical aspect is fascinating. It was fun to watch the West German version of the 80s music and club scene. If the filming is accurate, then it was edgier than hours. Less fluffy.

  54. BDD, hope you have power and an intact home after those wild winds last night. Crazy weather in Adelaide. We caught a plane this morning and I managed to get halfway through the movie Hidden Figues, about the black women mathematicians who worked on the space project in the 60s. I hope I can watch the rest on the return trip

    • Juz, this is one of my favourite movies. 😉 It also has Janelle Monae in, she’s a fantastic musician.
      BDD, good to hear you and your pup are fine. 🙂 It is always weird to me to read about weather conditions in other countries. We never really have anything extreme here, guess these are the perks of living pretty much in the safest area in Europe.

      • Zhee, it’s usually mild weather in Adelaide but now and then we get a wild storm. Not cyclone level but this one was super windy and stirred up a lot of dust. I was watching the giant avocado tree in our garden thrash around with much trepidation but it was fine in the end. Some poor people lost their verandahs and trampolines

      • We had big warnings here about a dust storm, but we just got the winds. It seems the dust went around our suburb and landed on the suburbs about 15 mins away.

        I find that the further you are away from a weather “event” the more unreliable the reporting is. Having lived in Victoria previously, I often chuckle at how Sydney media describes the geographical location of events (not just weather). Classic one is confusing Dandenong suburb with the Dandenong Ranges.

  55. I just finished watching The Night of the Hunter starring Robert Mitchum and a great young child actor. BDD recommended it. It was a good thriller that had my heart racing.

    • I LOVE that film. It is one of my very favourite classics. Completely suspenseful and a kind of scary lesson about that period. Wow.

    • Unforgettable film. I’m not alone liking it or being touched by it. Never did like preachers much.

      Tonight, I’m stuck with Jamie And The Nonnas, however. I won’t even remember what that was about tomorrow. Night Of The Nonna.

      • Try Destination Flavour China on SBS. I find Adam Liaw more watchable than Jamie, even Jamie with nonnas.

        I’ve been seeing too much of Jamie on really old The Naked Chef episodes on the food channel. He was kind of a wanker in those days.

        • I’ve seen more than one episode of 48Hrs where the local preacher dunnit. Robert Mitchum was imitating life. That whistling is quite haunting, too.

    • Thanks, Sara. I took a bit of an interest because I thought, “Who is this guy?” I had never seen him before. But I think he was on The Chaser which I don’t watch because it has an annoying little dark, haired guy with an annoying voice. He’s the one on Planet America, which I alwaysswitch off for the same reason.

  56. Woolif and I are binjing on you tube travel videos of Europe at the moment. Although they sound pretentiously like Portlandia, or Bill and Ted, we live Sam and Audrey. We also like the more conservative Rick Steves, and for Prague, our favourite is Honest Guide.
    Sam and Audrey are good for ‘sharing their meals’. They eat their way through the world.
    We have also been watching Rosie in Not Really French, and doing some you tube French phrases.
    That’s how we are spending our tv drought. That and doing cryptic crosswords from the newspaper. And swimming, walking and getting together with friends and family.

      • I am halfway through first ep of season 4. I do miss them being in Scotland. Now I am hooked on The Marvellous Mrs Maisel after watching the pilot on the plane.

        • Mrs Maisel is awesome. 🙂 I loved it. I think there is a season 2 soon on Prime.

          Outlander is really good so far, thankfully we get one new episode weekly on French Netflix. Catriona Balfe is an absolutely amazing actress, sadly she isn’t in more movies. Hard to believe that woman was “just a model” in the past and thankfully she proves the “model tries to be serious actress and fails” wrong. 🙂
          And how cute is Rollo the dog?

  57. MKR is promoting “love” as part of next year’s ten year festivities. Fail.

    I’ve watched it for ten years and it seems to be about obnoxious people hating on each other.

  58. Love my ABC24 captions. For “sideshow in Canberra”, they’ve given me “shitshow in Canberra”

    Ain’t that the truth?

  59. Juz my Flory Day top arrived and it fits perfectly. I used measurements when I ordered to be on the safeside. I am going to order some more tops.

    • I discovered today that these are pictures of actual designer wear, and very expensive. Floryday seem to have used the original photos and copied the designs. My friend’s mum sells the real stuff and they cost $100s.

  60. We will be in Paris next June. I might need a yellow jacket, but I always refuse to wear the orange ones we are supposed to wear for yard duty at school. They never match my ensemble. 😁

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